An admirable method to loue, serue and honour the B. Virgin Mary. With diuers practicable exercises thereof. Al inriched with choice examples. Written in Italian by the R. F. Alexis de Salo, Capuchin. And Englished by R.F.

An excellent way of adoring the B. Ʋirgin, in remembring the ioyes vvhich she had heere. CHAP. XX.

THE common opinion is, that the B. Virgin had in this world, sea∣uen ioyful times in particular.

• The first was, at her Annuncia∣tion.
• The second, the Visitation of S. Elizabeth.
• The third, the glorious Nati∣uity of our Sauiour Christ.
• The fourth, the Adoration of the three Kings.
• ...

• The fifth, at the finding of her B. sonne in the Temple.
• The sixth, at our B. Sauiours apparition to her after his most glorious Resurrection.
• The seuenth, her happy decease, and glorious Assumption into Heauen.

Now her deuout seruants may dayly administer her matter of fresh Ioy, by calling these vnto remembrance, and occasion to themselues a great increase of me∣rit and glory. The Angel Ga∣briels salutation to her of Aue, &c. was no other then an Inuita∣tion to reioyce, according to the interpretation of Origen; so the holy Church sings her Antiphon: Gaude virgo gloriosa, &c. and in other: Regind caeli laetare &c. and bids her reioice and be glad; and

in a third; Gaude & laetare Virgo Maria.

Let vs then announce vnto her Ioy by commemorating those her seauen Ioyful mysteries, in this following Method, making at each one of them a low reue∣rence.

• 1. Reioyce, O B. Mary, for that vpon the salutation of the hea∣uenly messinger, you concer∣ued in your sacred wombe your sonne, to the incredible conso∣lation of your soule.
• 2. Reioyce, O B. Mary, for that you burning with diuine loue, and incited by the holy Ghost, ouercome the toyle and labour of passing ouer the high moun∣taines of Iury, and visited your cosen Elizabeth, where you heard her vttering your cele∣stial

• praises, and magnifyed in spirit your Lord and Sauiour.
• 3. Reioyce, O B. Mary, for that at the end of nine moneths, you brought forth into the world, the so long expected Messias, bright as the sun of heauen, while al the celestial Angels played in the beames of him, to your vnspeakeable comfort.
• 4. Reioyce, O B. Mary, for that you saw the three Kings ado∣ring your B. Sonne, and con∣ceiued a fortunat presage from thence, of the Gentils conuer∣sion.
• 5. Reioyce, O B. Mary, for that after three dayes search, you found your B. Sonne, to your excessiue gladnes, amongst the Doctours in the Tēple, where you were astonisht amōgst the

• rest, to heare him expound the deepest mysteries of the holy Scripture, soe clearly, and with such admirable perspicacity.
• 6. Reioyce, O B. Virgin, for that after three dayes deluge of tea∣res, by the appearing of your glorious Sonne in his Resur∣rection, they were al dryed vp, and you exceedingly reioyc't and comforted.
• 7. Reioyce, O B. Mary, for that al the Apostles being assem∣bled together at the happy houre of your departure out of this mortal life, the third day after you were gloriously As∣sumpted into heauen, where now you sitt crowned and in∣stated by the holy Trinity Queene of Angels and of all the Vniuerse.

S. Anselme, amongst our B. Ladyes miracles, records this for one; that a certaine deuout Reli∣gious man, whose custome it was, dayly in his deuotiōs, to remem∣ber the 7. Ioyes of our B. Lady, being now neere his end, and ex∣ceeding fearful of that last Ago∣nie, our B. Lady appeared vnto him, and comforting him sayd, my sonne why should you feare? you who haue so often reioyced me with the remembrance of the greatest Ioyes I had in my mortal life? take courage, and assure your selfe no euil shal happen vnto you, but you shal soone be partaker of those Ioyes which you haue so often announced to me: with whose celestial presence he was so comforted, that forgetting his sicknes while he endeauoured

to rise, and through ioy to cast himself at her feet, his soule pre∣uented his body, and went out before to the fruition of those Ioyes which she had promised him.

The foresayd Ioyful mysteries may be distributed to each Houre of the Office of the B. Virgin, The first, at Mattins; the second, at Prime; the third, at the Third Houre; The fourth, at the Sixt; The fifth, at the Ninth; the sixt, at Vespers; and the seauenth, at Complin; On each one of which we way deuoutly meditat the while, and so in the like manner we may meditat then on our Beads; a deuotion most accepta∣ble to our B. Lady, as from this Example we may perceiue, re∣counted by Pelbert in the Stel∣lary

of the B. Virgin.

There was, sayes he, a yong man, who making himselfe Re∣ligious of S. Francis, his Order, was accustomed before he entred into Religion, to crowne a cer∣taine Image of our Lady with a wreath of flowers which he dayly gathered for that intent, but being once become Religious, wanting the commodity of flo∣wers, he intermitted this deuo∣tion, though so vnwillingly as the leauing that, made him re∣solue at last, to leaue being Reli∣gious also, and being vpon the point of departing the Conuent, behold our B. Lady appeared vnto him saying; leaue off that your so pernicious resolue vpon so triuial an occasion, and if you desire to vndertake a deuotion grateful

vnto me, in steed of making me a material crowne of flowers, of∣fer me vp a spiritual one of salu∣tations, and I shal be farre more delighted with it, and the forme of it shalbe this: you shal first say a Pater noster, in memory of the Ioy I conceiued when the Angel saluted me and the Eternal word was Incarnat in my wombe, and say. 10. Aue Marias in conse∣quence thereof. Secondly, you shal do as much; in memory of the Ioy I had in visiting my co∣sen Elizabeth: and so forth, vnto the seauenth Ioy I had; which you shal conclude with the last three Aue Marias of your Bea∣des, so the whole number wil amount to 7. Paters and 63. Aue Marias; which deuotion if you shal dayly performe in mine ho∣nour

know you shal much more please me, then in that other de∣uotion which you had; and ha∣uing sayd this, she vanished away, leauing him exceedingly comforted and strengthened in his vocation. Now it hapned that whilst one day he was perfor∣ming this deuotion, a certaine Religious beholding him by chance, sawe an Angel standing by him, threading on a golden thread, as many roses as the No∣uice sayd Aue Marias, and for each Paternoster a golden lilly: al which when the Nouice had done he ioined them together, and crowned his head with them; the Religious man astonished at this vision, charged him by vertue of holy obedience, to declare vnto him what deuotiōs he vsed; which

he doing with great sincerity, the Religious man encouraged him to persist therin, assuring him it was a deuotion the B. Virgin was delighted with.

And S. Bernard exercising this deuotion our B. Lady appeared vnto him once, saying vnto him; my sonne, this deuotion of thine, is exceeding grateful to me, and that thou mayst perceiue so much, I haue obtained of my sonne for thee in reward thereof, the grace of preaching, and of working mi∣racles; besides, I promise you, one day to make you participant of those Ioyes which you dayly cal to remembrance; and de facto soone after, the holy Saint began to be famous indeed for miracles, and to abound in innumerable graces, and conuerted a world of

soules by his learned preachings and force of his miracles.